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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2022)
April 06, 2022 o piNioN Page 9 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Making It Harder to Vote A five-alarm emergency for democracy “Voter suppression” is a divi- sive and highly politicized term. But for the slate of bills Republi- cans are pushing across the coun- try, it’s the only correct one. They’re introducing these bills in virtually every state, but three — Arizona, Georgia, and Wis- consin — are especially worri- some. These swing states, along with Pennsylvania and Michigan, helped decide the last presidential election. Each flipped from Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020. But now, in these states and elsewhere, Republicans want to make it harder to vote by mail, get rid of same-day voter registration and ballot drop-off boxes, limit early voting, reduce the number of voting booths at polling locations, and much more. If you’re not paying attention to these election bills, you should be. They might determine the next president of the United States. Joe Biden won Arizona, Geor- gia, and Wisconsin by a com- bined 45,000 votes. He didn’t win because of widespread voter fraud or some liberal conspiracy. He won because more people vot- ed for him. The GOP response hasn’t been to win more votes. It’s been to make sure fewer people get to vote. Voting rights should be a bipar- tisan issue. Instead, we’re seeing Republicans throw every voter suppression idea they have at the wall of their Capitol buildings Robert Alvarez hoping something sticks. A big part of this is Trump’s iron grip over the Republican Party. To appease Trump, Republi- cans have spent the last two years trying to overturn the last presi- dential election. They failed. But if the election bills they’re push- ing are signed into law, they may not have to overturn the next one. Texas Senate Bill 1 is a good example of the kind of restrictive bills Republicans are pursuing in at least 40 states — including those three swing states. The new Texas law makes it il- legal for election officials to send mail-in ballots to voters unless they ask for them. It requires a voter identification number to be included with mail-in ballots. And it bans 24-hour polling places, among other things. In the first election since the law was implemented, over 27,000 mail ballots were flagged for rejection in Texas. Most re- jections were due to a technical- ity — forgetting to include that newly required voter identifica- tion number. In the end, 23,000 ballots were thrown out, which was about 13 percent of all mail ballots. In Democratic-dominated Harris County around Houston, that fig- ure rose to 19 percent — nearly one in five ballots. For comparison, less than 1 percent of mail-in ballots in Texas were rejected in the 2020 general election. When ballot rejections increase by 10- to 20-fold, that’s not a free and fair election. If we see rejection numbers like Texas’s in a general election — especially in swing states like Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin — we’re talking about control of the House, Senate, and presiden- cy being stolen. Not stolen from Democrats, but from voters. According to the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks state-level election legislation, 565 election bills that restrict voter access or election administration have been introduced so far this session. Of those 565 bills, 129 are courtesy of Republicans in Arizona, Geor- gia, and Wisconsin. Elections should be about the person with the most votes win- ning. For Republicans, it’s about putting up as many barriers to vot- ing as possible and shrinking the electorate until it churns out the result they want. The good news for voters and for supporters of free and fair elec- tions is the vast majority of those bills haven’t made their way out of their state legislatures. There’s still time to stop them. Robert P. Alvarez is a media relations associate at the Institute for Policy Studies. c Lassifieds /B ids GENERAL CLEANING AND UNIT TURN SERVICES FOR FEDERAL PROPERTIES The Contracts and Procurement Manager of the City of Salem on behalf of the Salem Housing Authority (SHA) will receive bids electronically through Equity Hub’s Bid Locker, until, but not af- ter 11:00 a.m., (Local Time) APRIL 27, 2022, 2022 at which time said bids will be publicly opened and read virtually using Zoom. The Zoom call in information will be posted on OregonBuys at least 3 days prior to bid opening date and time. Bidders may obtain these bid documents by registering on the OregonBuys website and downloading them. Bidders shall con- sult the OregonBuys system regularly until closing date and time to avoid missing any notices. To register on OregonBuys go to https://oregonbuys.gov. The City shall advertise all Addenda on OregonBuys. Prospective Bidders are solely responsible for checking OregonBuys to determine whether or not any Addenda have been issued. Bid documents will not be mailed to prospec- tive Bidders. Bids must be submitted on the bid forms furnished by the City. Completed bids must arrive electronically via Equity Hub’s Bid Locker at https://bidlocker.us/a/salem_or/BidLocker. The City will not accept bids submitted in any other manner. HUMAN RIGHTS: It is the express policy of the City that no person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity on the grounds of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status or domestic partnership, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or source of income as provided by Salem Revised Code Chap- ter 97, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal non-discrimination laws. The City’s complete Title VI Plan may be viewed at www.cityofsalem.net. Successful Bidder agrees to comply with all applicable requirements of federal, state and lo- cal civil rights and rehabilitation statutes, rules and regulations if awarded an agreement by the City. Solicitations for Subcontracts, Including Procurements of Ma- terials and Equipment: In all solicitations either by competitive bidding or negotiation made by the successful Bidder for work to be performed under a subcontract, including procurements of materials or leases of equipment, each potential subcontrac- tor or supplier shall be notified by the successful Bidder of the successful Bidder’s obligations under this agreement, Salem Re- vised Code Chapter 97, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other federal nondiscrimination laws. Inquiries concerning the bid specifications shall be directed to: Steve Waldron, Contract Administrator, phone: 503-587-4802 or email: swaldron@salemhousingor.com The City Buyer for this bid is Lindsey Bergerson, phone: 503-588-6093 or email: liberger- son@cityofsalem.net INVITATION FOR BIDS 2022-25 Invitation to Bid for Information Technology Related Equipment Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area (dba C-TRAN) has issued an Invitation to Bid (ITB) for Information Technolo- gy Related Equipment. This ITB may be found at https://ww- w.c-tran.com/about-c-tran/business/procurement/bid-and-pro- posal-opportunities. Bids will be accepted until 3:00 p.m. on Monday May 9, 2022. PUBLIC NOTICE Request for Proposals NextGen Youth Services Worksystems is seeking qualified, experienced, and emerging organizations to provide career services to diverse populations of youth to help them meet education and employment goals. The RFP is posted on Worksystems’ website at www.worksys- tems.org. Proposals are due no later than noon on May 9, 2022. Worksystems is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxilia- ry aids and services are available to individuals with disabilities upon request. To place a free relay call in Oregon, dial 711.
